Baguio, Pangasinan seek bigger budgets for 2027

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — This city is proposing a P4.143-billion budget for 2027, up 13 percent from this year’s allocation, as the mountain resort city seeks to sustain economic growth and advance its shift toward a circular economy and smart city governance.

The proposed budget comes as long-delayed national government redevelopment projects in the city move forward, including the rehabilitation and modernization of century-old Burnham Park, funded by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza).

Tieza is also financing the planned modernization and expansion of downtown Session Road next year. The project aims to transform the historic thoroughfare into a five-lane road lined with trees and wider sidewalks to encourage walking. Its implementation had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Baguio City Council began reviewing the city’s 2027 Local Expenditure Plan on Monday. The proposed budget totals P4,143,610,299, according to city officials.

Lawyer Noelle Rillon-Mateo, deputy city budget officer, said the proposed allocation represents a 13-percent increase from this year’s P3.65-billion budget.

Economic enterprises

Mayor Benjamin Magalong attributed the increase to the city’s economic growth, citing the steady recovery of its finances following the pandemic.

“We started in 2019 with (a budget of) P2.2 billion, which dropped to P1.7 billion during the coronavirus pandemic. Then the budget rose to P3.6 billion this year, and next year, we’re looking at P4 billion,” he said during the city’s flag-raising ceremony on Monday.

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Baguio’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached P188.89 billion in 2025, with a reported growth rate of 5.6 percent. Its per capita GDP stood at P478,956, according to the figures cited in the report.

City Treasurer Alex Cabarrubias said the city expects to generate P1.285 billion in tax revenues and P1.034 billion in nontax revenues, including regulatory fees, to support its programs and public services in 2027.

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The activation of city-owned economic enterprises is among the factors supporting the city’s revenue outlook, officials said.

Councilor Leandro Yangot, a former director of John Hay Management Corp., called for closer scrutiny of Camp John Hay’s revenues and outstanding obligations to the city to help improve local income.

Councilor Peter Fianza said Baguio’s revenues would also be supplemented by external funding sources, including the national tax allotment (NTA).

Magalong said the Mayors for Good Governance group was continuing discussions with the Department of Finance over the share of national revenues allocated to local government units.

He reiterated that cities and municipalities receive 32 percent of national revenues instead of the 40 percent share they should receive under the existing allocation framework. The issue had previously been raised with Executive Secretary Ralph Recto when he was finance secretary.

Improved tax collection

Meanwhile, the Pangasinan provincial government has proposed a P9.33-billion budget for 2027, a 10.18-percent increase from the previous year, to sustain investments in health care, education, infrastructure and other public services.

In his budget message to the Provincial Board, Gov. Ramon Guico III said the proposed expenditure program totals P9,329,848,870.

The proposed budget follows increases of 19.3 percent in 2025 and 15.26 percent in 2026.

Guico attributed the latest increase partly to the province’s growing share of the NTA, which is projected to reach P7.39 billion in 2027, an increase of 10.86 percent from the previous year. He also cited improved collections from local taxes, including quarry taxes and other quarry-related revenues.

Provincial tax revenues reached P1.703 billion in 2026, following reported growth rates of 21.77 percent in 2024, 57.8 percent in 2025 and 42 percent in 2026, Guico said.

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Among the major projects cited in his budget message were Pangasinan Polytechnic College, the first phase of the Pangasinan Capitol redevelopment, and the construction of Umingan Super Community Hospital and Alcala Community Hospital. /cb